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Nearly 50 percent of Uganda’s population is under the age of 15, and mobile technology is offering them huge opportunities to access information and connect globally.

That's why we teamed up with Villages In Action (VIA) to virtually connect with young girls in Kikuube Village, Uganda. VIA is a program dedicated to giving the people in the villages a voice in the global community.

For this hour-long event, Girl Up gathered questions from teen supporters in the United States and sent them to a facilitator in Uganda who helped the girls reply over Twitter.

The Twitter Party reached more than 1.5 million people worldwide and gave girls in this remote village a chance to connect with teens in the U.S.

Girl Up Champion Ivanka Trump joined the conversation and sent out a few tweets to her followers. 

The Girl Up Twitter Party gave us a chance to hear directly from some of the world’s hardest to reach girls and connect them with teens in the U.S., in real time!

While girls in the United States are more educated, socially connected and empowered than ever before, many girls in developing countries still struggle for the opportunity to go to school, see a doctor or be included in their communities.

This virtual conversation highlighted these cultural differences, but also shed light on the many similarities girls around the world share like dealing with peer pressure, school, and the ups and downs of being a teenager.

The power of social media helped them connect like never before.

(Girls from the Kikuube Village, Uganda)

Thank you Villages in Action Founder Teddy Ruge and his entire team in Kikuube Village for making this global conversation possible.

To every person who joined our Twitter Party, we hoped you had a blast learning more about other cultures and discovering the common bonds that connect girls around the world. See you at the next party!